May 15th, 2004: Los Angeles at New York

Los Angeles Sparks 69, New York Liberty 62

The Liberty are on fire! No, sorry, that's just the Garden. The Game Notes would also like a refund for Tamika Whitmore.



I had forgotten how good it felt to be home. And by home I mean the Garden, not the place where I actually live. I had missed the place more than I can imagine, and I had missed the camaraderie that comes with standing in the Garden lobby three and a half hours before gametime, talking hoops, spreading news and generally having a high old time; there's something about doing it in person that's a ppile more fun than going to a message board. (Not dissing you guys, just, you know, saying.)

So we lost. You know what? With VJ and Crystal not playing the second half, with Tari in (really nice) street clothes for the entire game, with Ann Goddess knows where, we lost by 7, and that includes coming back from a 21-point deficit. Now, I grant that Leslie and Teasley sat out most of the second half, but the Liberty fought and clawed to get back into the game, at times coming within four. I think this Liberty squad has more grit and moxie than we've had since... well, since Sue. It's not that we've replaced Sue, because no one can, but for the first time I felt like this team actually cared about the results: maybe it came from narrowly losing to the Sparks in LA, maybe it's some fierce kind of contrary pride rising up from Becky and Elena and everyone else to prove that Spoon and Tamika don't matter a damn to this team anymore. Whatever it was, it shows a heart that I didn't see last year, and maybe it has something to do with the acids being taken out of the chemistry with Teresa and Tamika leaving. Their second game together- first for VJ and Crystal, and there's a chemistry there that could gel very, very quickly.

To plays we go. A couple drew my attention, notably one drive by Lindsey that I like to think of as the Lindsey kamakaze (sp? I suppose I shouldn't get any spelling help on a pun lke that). It got pretty chippy out there too; I recall KB flat out shoving Spoon to the floor, plus one time when Tamika was deposited squarely on her behind. Liberty players were on the receiving end of a bunch of stuff- I think Shameka Christon got hit a couple of times, and Cathy Joens got called for a bad charging foul that helped freeze the mighty momentum on a floater in the lane with three on the shot clock. There were many elbows, most of them actually not connected to La Leslie. Two trends about the Liberty offense bothered me: the reliance on three-pointers and the seeming inability to get the damn play off before we started chanting the shot clock down.

Player evaluation time! It looks like Michael Cooper's got his final roster; Doneeka Hodges might get cut if/when Laura Macchi shows up (didn't see her in NYC, and I'm always nervous about foreigners showing up/not showing up). The traditional 5 started for LA- yes folks, DeLisha "I treated my ACL with massage and cheese" Milton started the game. Mabika is on- her shot looked even better than last year, if that's even possible. Dixon's not shooting that well; often she brought the ball up while Teasley acted as the shooting guard. It's no wonder Dixon's been on the market- when Becky Hammon can blow by you on a regular basis... Milton looked slower, but her shot is coming back, as is some of her defensive intensity; from what I've gleaned from the 5/8 reports, she's improved about a month's worth in seven days. Didn't see much of La Leslie, but she did get seven rebounds in her limited minutes. Christi Thomas is a real banger- very impressive for a #12 pick, and she's got elbows that will be well-trained by La Leslie. Masciadri didn't leave too much of an impression, but she does seem more committed to defense than your average Euro. Coker wasn't much, but she'll probably stick heightwise- she may be the casualty when Macchi arrives.

Liberty fans need to sue the Whitmore family. It's obvious that the Tamika we had was a defective version, not the one that led the nation in scoring at Memphis, and certainly not the one that went for 11 and 7 this afternoon. I want a refund and a compensatory draft pick. On the other hand… the Liberty did the best thing by cutting ties with Teresa Weatherspoon as a player. She's lost another step, and she's starting to lose a consistent dribble, and if you can't do that as a basketball player let alone a point guard, it's time to hang it up and get your season tickets. She hit one shot (I think) and that was partially luck, and several times K.B. blew right by her, faking her out so badly that it was painful. I hate watching the great ones reduced to this, and whatever her flaws, Teresa was one of the great ones in her time. All good things must come to an end, and for Teresa it is that time. (I'm not hating. There's only one player in this league who regularly gets my undiluted hatred for everything she does on and off the court, and that player is Mery Andrade.)

On to the land of Liberty. Didn't see much of Crystal and VJ, though VJ looks a little slimmed down (maybe that's why she and C-Rob were late, they were attacking the Stairmaster to melt away the pasta). Elena played as if inspired. She wasn't happy last season, and I wouldn't blame her (let's see, you're an All-Star and an Olympian and you're playing behind... Tamika Whitmore?!)- this year, she's got the green light, and by playing the lineups he did Richie forced her to play more physically, and it definitely improved her game- she was the leading rebounder in the game. Bethany Donaphin played her way into the rotation, in my eyes, though I worry that she'll be forgotten when Ann Wauters deigns to show up. Cathy Joens was impressive, showing that though she can take the outside shot she can also drive into the forest. Amisha Carter showed flashes of promise, and so did Shameka Christon, but Shameka better show a hell of a lot more than flashes soon, or there is going to be a reckoning. Becky... well, I saved her for the end for a reason. Someone needs to tell her that she is not the show. She is a large part of the show, but she is not the show all by herself. She's getting doubled and tripled every time the word ball crosses her mind, and though she did find the open woman a couple of times she didn't do it nearly often enough, instead trying plays and passes that were far too complicated. I don't know if it's the knee or the expectations, but she's not performing. She led the team in scoring, but I reckon half those points were FTs.

So the chopping block: either Doneeka Hodges or Monique Coker for the Sparks. 3-5 of the following five for New York: Erin Thorn, DeTrina White, Lindsey Yamasaki, Tasha Pointer, and April McDivitt; the last two never got out of warmups, which means either their places are secure, or they're both gone the way Ndeye Ndiaye is- silently and without warning. The cap might allow us to keep a couple of chep players more than we would have otherwise. Either Erin or DeTrina could slide until Ann shows up. Lindsey, as adorable and wonderful as she is, doesn't have the defense to succeed at this level.

Random notes: fire somewhere in the building delayed letting us in by twenty minutes. This did not please me. Kym Hampton arrived, looking, well, eight months pregnant; she chatted with Whitmore at halftime, when Tamika was the first player out (and when did she ever do that in NY??). Lane Bryant ought to look into making stunning maternity clothes for the stunning pregnant woman. The new games are fun, though the karaoke sort of backfired. T-Spoon's new haircut looks even worse in person than it does in the photo. And if you're at the Garden and you hear a bald guy suggesting a WNBA Girls Gone Wild video, do me a favor and hit him for me. He didn't seem to get it the first two times I did.